A Return to Normalcy?

The 2020 Election that (Almost) Broke America

Larry J. Sabato, Kyle Kondik, J. Miles Coleman

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2021
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538148532
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Campaigns & Elections
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Up close, Inauguration Day 2021 looked like any other—the chief justice of the US Supreme Court administering the oath of office to the new president on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. But pull the lens back and this was anything but a typical election and transition of power. In A Return to Normalcy?, Larry Sabato, Kyle Kondik, and J. Miles Coleman bring together respected journalists, analysts, and scholars to examine every facet of the stunning 2020 election and its aftermath, and how these events will impact American politics moving forward. In frank, accessible prose, each author offers insight that goes beyond the headlines and dives into the underlying forces and shifts that drove the election from its earliest developments to its chaotic conclusion. A Return to Normalcy? is an indispensable read for political junkies and all students of American politics.

Table of contents

• Preface and Acknowledgments
• 1 A Return to Normalcy?: Taking Stock at the End of the Trump Presidency, Larry J. Sabato
• 2 The Off-Kilter Presidential Primaries of 2020, Rhodes Cook
• 3 Was Joe Biden’s Primary Win Inevitable or Accidental?, David Byler
• 4 The Politics of Good versus Evil: Voting in a Polarized America, Alan I. Abramowitz
• 5 A Political Road Trip Across the Country: Presidential Trends in Some Swingy, and Not-So Swingy, States, J. Miles Coleman
• 6 The House: A Blue Wave Reduced to a Blue Trickle, Kyle Kondik
• 7 The Senate: How Democrats Found the Most Difficult Path to a Majority, Madelaine Pisani
• 8 Governors and State Legislatures: Republicans Retain Strength as Redistricting Looms, Mary Frances McGowan
• 9 Parties, Presidents, and the Black Electorate’s Gender Gap, Theodore R. Johnson
• 10 Media Coverage of the 2020 Election: Journalists and Influencers in the Misinformation Age, Diana Owen
• 11 Defending Democracy during a Pandemic, Grace Panetta
• 12 The $14 Billion Election: Emerging Campaign Finance Trends and Their Impact on the 2020 Presidential Race and Beyond, Michael E. Toner and Karen E. Trainer
• 13 Was Trump Worth It for Republicans?, Sean Trende
• About the Contributors